PIMS Burn Centre’s surgeon transferred amid litigation

ISLAMABAD: The crisis at the Burn Care Centre of the PIMS has intensified a s the Ministry of National Health Services transfer red the centre’s most senior burn surgeon, Assistant Professor Dr Muhammad Saaiq, to the unrelated National Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine , though a seniority and headship dispute remains pending with the Islamabad High Court.

Established in 2007 as the country’s first Burn Centre, the facility was envisioned as a specialised facility for the treatment of burn patients and the training of qualified surgeons. However, since early 2025, the Centre has been mired in controversy over alleged irregular appointments and deviation from its original mandate, according to the officials.

They said that the crisis began when the acting PIMS executive director appointed a contractual employee , reportedly lacking mandatory FCPS general surgery qualifications and FPSC selection , as in -charge of the Centre.

The decision sidelined Dr Saaiq, an FPSC-selected, more qualified, highly trained and dedicated burn surgeon, who later challenged the move in the high court. The officials insisted that under the current head, the Centre’s focus ha d shifted from burn treatment to cosmetic and reconstructive surgeries, diverting funds and facilities meant for burn victims. They said that the renaming of the facility as the Plastic and Burn Reconstructive Surgery Centre ha d diluted its core mission.

The officials insisted that despite PIMS already having a dedicated plastic surgery department with its own wards and operating theatres, non-burn patients were brought in from the main hospital in ambulances, operated on in Burn Centre theatres and then sent back and thus, defeating the very purpose of the Centre.

They added that despite the ongoing litigation, the ministry’s latest posting order for Dr Saaiq was an attempt to clear the way for the continued control of the unit by its current controversial chief.

The officials noted that the Supreme Court recently directed ministries to remove officers in B PS-16 and above who were not competitively appointed through the FPSC and the current head of the Plastic and Burn Reconstructive Surgery Centre was among them.